In this feature, The Most Radicalist pick out their favourite emerging artists opening up stages across the globe.

This feature sees our team head to London for The Great Escape’s FIRST FIFTY – a three-day sampler of Brighton’s renowned tastemaker festival The Great Escape.

With a history of breaking the hottest new musical talents for over twelve years now, this is only the second time that The Great Escape has run this FIRST FIFTY series, aimed at giving punters and industry alike a first glimpse at the hottest new artists on the scene.

Run over three nights in East London, FIRST FIFTY takes places across some truly iconic venues – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, The Old Blue Last, Birthdays, Zigfrid von Underbelly and The Courtyard Theatres. With each venue putting on a few artists every night, it was almost impossible to choose which artists to pick. Eventually, we settled on the following, who provide just a snapshot of the up-and-coming talent due to hit our ears in 2018.

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HOTEL LUX – NOVEMBER 21st , The Old Blue Last



Hotel Lux opened the FIRST FIFTY show at The Old Blue Last, which was presented by So Young. This was an apt promoter given the apparent age of all the bands, who showcased some of the youngest and brightest talent on the UK scene. First up were Hotel Lux, a snarling psych-rock band with all the hallmarks of a British great: swagger, edge and a charmingly inebriated style of playing. Standout tracks were ‘North/South Divide’, ‘Supposedly The Berlin Wall’ and the sinister-edged and recently-released ‘The Last Hangman’. Self-released and with shedloads of attitude, Hotel Lux are certainly ones to watch.



SPORTS TEAM - NOVEMBER 21st, The Old Blue Last



Sports Team were our personal favourites from the So Young night at the Old Blue Last. We’ve covered the band’s new single ‘Stanton’ before, but the Cambridge boffins blew us away with their performative live show. Frontman Alex Rice strutted, flirted and danced his way through a song whose only intent was to declare ‘Ashton Kutcher’s got nothing on you’, and the crowd pleasing number about flipscreen Motorola phones: ‘Stanton’. This is kinetic indie rock at its most infectious, feel-good and exciting – make sure to put space in your diary for Sports Team’s next live show. The band have recently signed to tastemaker label Nice Swan Records, and we’ve heard whisperings of more music dropping soon…



THE ORIELLES - NOVEMBER 21st, The Old Blue Last



Headlining the night were The Orielles – a psychedelic garage group who roared on stage to play ‘I Only Bought It For The Bottle’, dance-punk epic ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’, the ridiculously catchy ‘Let Your Dogtooth Grow’. They even played a currently unreleased spin on a 1950s ballad, brought bang up to date with chorus-guitar pedals and tight, snappy drums and bass. With more cowbell than you can shake a stick at, The Orielles provided a fitting end to a fantastic night showcasing the most exciting bands on the UK scene.



MAISIE PETERS – NOVEMBER 22nd, Zigfrid von Underbelly



The second night of Great Escape’s FIRST FIFTY showcase saw newcomer Maisie Peters take to the stage. A singer-songwriter from Brighton, Peters came up through the world of YouTube, where she has more than 1 million subscribers. Now the bright young talent has turned her hand to songwriting, where she has placed in a couple of key tastemaker playlists including Spotify’s New Music Friday with her charming and direct songwriting. It was a particularly confident performance from Peters, who played ‘Place We Were Made’ to an enraptured audience before finishing with a comic ballad detailing how ‘one girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure’. Hailing from Brighton herself, Peters’ Great Escape show is sure to be one of the best attended – make sure you get down early!



TAMINO – NOVEMBER 22nd, Zigfrid von Underbelly



Tamino caused quite the stir earlier this year when he dropped his mournful ballad ‘Habibi’, to great acclaim from press and blogs alike. At Zigfrid von Underbelly he took to the stage for his first ever show in England dressed in all black, with moody music to match. A stunning singer, Tamino’s voice filled the packed room, effortlessly flitting between drawling baritone and soft falsetto. Half-Egyptian, half-Belgian and now living in Amsterdam, Tamino’s music displayed aspects from every culture he’s immersed himself in, and was all the richer for it. Catch him live in Amsterdam later in December, or at The Great Escape in May next year.



FREAK – NOVEMBER 23rd, Birthdays

(Photo: Sean Carpenter)

FREAK has been causing quite the stir on the DIY scene. Grungy, loud, unapologetic and with just enough melody to keep him on the pop side of punk, Connar Ridd a.k.a FREAK has been putting out a steady stream of frantic, frenetic records over the last twelve months. His live show lived up to its explosive reputation, perfectly showcasing his hilarious titled EP No Money No Honey Shit Job Not Funny. Check it out here.



Ten Tonnes – NOVEMBER 23rd, Birthdays

(Photo: Sean Carpenter)

The most exciting performance of the night came from headliner Ten Tonnes, an indie singer-songwriter signed earlier this year to Warner Bros Records. Armed with a guitar and that signature vocal tear, Ten Tonnes delivered a storming set to a captive audience who, between tracks, took great amusement in trying to persuade the 21-year-old to remove items of his clothing (granted, it was extremely hot by this stage). Not one to be distracted, however, Ten Tonnes delivered a cracking half-hour set which included a swaggering rendition of new single ‘Cracks Between’ and singalong smash ‘Lucy’. If you earmark one set for the 2018 Great Escape, make sure it’s Ten Tonnes’ – you won’t be disappointed.



-Holly Manners

(All photos from greatescapefestival.com/gallery/first-fifty-2017 except Tamino)